It’s a little hard to say if this episode served a long-lasting purpose, or if it really was just filler. As of late, the writers address and re-examine recurring issues within the sitcom. This time around, they slide Howard and Sheldon’s relationship under the microscope. It’s a rather cramped petri dish. On the other side of the viewfinder: Amy and Raj, spotlighted in their own plot. When Raj decides to retry online dating and respond to a profile, Amy offers to chat up the lucky lady in question before Raj’s antics take center stage. I’m also not sure if the...

In the bustle of the holiday season—Hanukkah or Christmas or whichever winter celebration you uphold—sometimes we forget the spirit of it all. What really lights the candle, so to speak. Even if the origins of either holiday are lost in the vapors of history: “In the pre-Christian era, as the winter solstice approached and the plants died, pagans brought evergreen boughs into their homes as an act of sympathetic magic, intended to guard the life essences of the plants until spring. This custom was later appropriated by Northern Europeans and eventually it becomes the so-called Christmas tree.” -- Sheldon...

Sheldon might put the "fun" in "funeral," but he didn't kill any of his jokes (or my side-busting) with this new episode of Big Bang Theory. A lot of the cast came together this time, in pairings we don’t often see in the series. Of a more ground-breaking fashion, Howard and Bernadette’s father, his father-in-law. Of a risqué nature, akin to Two Broke Girls, Sheldon and Amy. Of a gross kind, Howard and “the worm.” In an effort to find common ground between Howard and his father-in-law, Bernadette proposed a fishing trip between the two. Perhaps they’re not leaves...

Inspired by the artwork, commentary, and “.gif sets” of Big Bang Theory fans this morning, I decided to go right ahead and reveal Sheldon Cooper’s not-best-kept secret: He can’t keep a secret. He managed, somehow, not to divulge the 20 minutes missing from his workday to Howard and Raj until the end of the episode, two or three BBT episodes ago, but I’ll chalk that up to “character development.” He certainly gave the two a good scare by the end, anyway. Although, at the beginning of the series, Sheldon couldn’t keep a secret without careful deliberation and planning: big...

Amy: “It’s called ‘Fun With Flags.’ They’re not at half-mast, nobody died, let’s keep it upbeat.” Pretty sure Sheldon’s web-based show (does anyone else recall an earlier reference to the breakthrough?) could have been a suitable title for this episode, with a few tweaks. Fun With Sheldon. Fun With Moving. Fun With Tea. Amy might be neurotic and uptight, but she doesn’t hold her ground dating Sheldon Cooper for nothing. Sheldon fails (in true Texas fashion) to defend her honor the first time when she and Will Wheaton argue over directing. He later fraternizes with the enemy, while remaining...